Hidden in the Darkness
by Tahntahn
Summary: Shaylin and Timmy's journey continues as they try to continue their lives after the destruction of Raccoon City. What happens when the virus returns attempting to kill them off a second time? And what happens when the virus isn't the T-Virus they were expecting? All alone in their struggle to survive Timmy & Shaylin continue the battle in the second installment of the Hidden series
1. Chapter 1

The paralyzing screams seemed to get louder the further it echoed down the never ending alley. My cramping lungs were on fire and both my cold legs throbbed in pain. Everything began to happen at once taking me by a surprise. It was useless running with nowhere to go, and I would most likely end up dead anyways. But still I had to get away. It was after me; the sounds of the beast ringing through my ears. Cant my life go back to normal already?

The shoes I had been wearing were lose blue flip-flops and became too slick to run in. They let out a snap breaking the straps in half above my feet. I slipped down as the running water beneath me picked me up and I landed on my bruised side with a thud. It grabbed my leg and threw me into the brick wall to the right. My head hurt like hell and the pain was so real. The rain pouring above us washed away the blood. My back began to cramp as I looked around to see a door. It was big almost like one you'd see at a church or college and without even thinking I scampered to my feet and hurried through to the other side.

A long staircase played out before me like pixels from a computer. The scattered boxes and random couch in the corner caught my attention. Seeing the red blood leak out onto the floor I looked back to see the door gone. No turning back. With a trail of blood running from my hairline down the right side of my face I limped up the steps. There were no monsters is sight and I silently wished it would stay that way. It was like a safe room. The dimmed wall lights lit the steps just enough so I could see and step over more scattered papers and what not.

Pain crept though the left side of my body. While grabbing my arm in pain the lights brightened blinding me. There was a loud bang of a gunshot coming for several hallways down and when I made it up the stairs the sound had stopped. Someone was either dead or alive and with my luck they would probably be both.

Mindlessly walking down the hall I opened one door to see a room with a large desk and an old man lying on the floor dead. My stomach turned. The rest of the place was quiet like no one had been there in years. I opened the next door and saw balloons and streamers hanging in every which way. It was a nice sized courtyard with lights lit everywhere. The rain had stopped making the place all the more beautiful. I sighed in relief.

A moan came from outside as several zombie heads perked up. My scratched face paled and I immediately slammed the door. Looks like there's an evil in everything. Looking back the thin hallway changed to a white tile and walls, reminding me of an insane asylum. My wet feet slipped with each step as I inched towards the corner. The wall that was behind me followed closely.

The wall next to me cracked sending lines throughout like tree limbs.

Panicking, I clawed at the ground trying to stop and my nails broke, blood oozing. My foot hit the side of the wall and a crack erupted from my ankle. Once I came to a stop the hill behind me disappeared and a building took its place. The door flew open and Timmy rushed out towards me. He saw my injuries and examined them while helping me sit up.

"Shaylin, you've got to be more careful! How did this happen?" He asked, and I tried to stand up really fast. By ankle popped and my legs gave out. Rain fell from the night sky.

"Timmy, we have to go! The monster is coming and the zombies-" He began to laugh at me, I shook my head. "What?"

"Zombies? Monsters?" His laughing ceased, "Shaylin, your mother always said that your active imagination would get the best of you one day. Come on, let's go have her clean you up-"

"No!" I refused as he helped me up. "Why would you trust her when she left us to die in Raccoon City!"

"Shay, we are alive and fine. Raccoon City is just as peaceful as it always was." He said going towards the door. Taking my hand he patted me on the shoulder.

"Timmy-" Liquid went all over my face and I felt his body lean on me. Using my sleeve I wiped my eyes and saw blood all over. When I looked up Timmy's head was gone.

Screaming, I pushed him off me and stumbled back. The rain came down harder and a claw stabbed me in the side. The beast threw me into the wall and screamed my name in my face. It was Dad before he died, and the virus had complete control. It held out a hand with something in it. I closed my eyes.

I crawled away trying not to look, and its claws grabbed my ankle. Pulling me back it put something against my face. My eyes flew open and Timmy's eyes stared into mine. My heart skipped a beat and I took off towards the entrance. The monster with Timmy's head attached to it next to dads.

Bursting through the door a white hallway laid out before me, my heart still racing. The lights above me flickered on and at the end of the hallway to my right a window appeared. The door behind me cracked and scratches came from the other side. Then, the door just evaporated into thin air leaving a blank wall in it's place.

Before I knew it my feet began to lead my body down the long hallway towards the window. I had no control over my muscles, and I closed my eyes.

"I don't want to see." I pleaded, my eyes began to tear up. "Please...don't-"

My lips stopped moving and I lost all control. I came to a stop and my eyes were forced open. In the room were two scientists in lab coats, and they were being watched by someone in a window one story up. The person had a clipboard and a camera beside them while the lady on the ground had a needle, the man also carried a clipboard. I forced my eyes back closed but the image appeared again, my eyelids had disappeared.

A little girl laid there on the table, tired and scared. The man held up a card that said 'Test 5' on it, then walked away. The woman gave the girl some gas and had her sit up and wait for it to take effect, tears filled the woman's eyes. The person in the window spoke through a microphone, it was a woman also. I heard them talk as if I were the woman's headphones.

"Monica, what are you waiting for? Do it now." She ordered, but the woman shook her head.

"Why do we have to use this one, she isn't strong enough." Monica replied, staring at the needle. The woman smiled, "You seemed to be successful, why not your daughter?"

"But she's so young-"

"Enough! I don't care how young she is!" She shook her head and giggled. "Just think of the possible outcomes, mostly the good ones. If there are any."

The man kept his eyes glued to his clipboard . Monica slowly nodded, then walked over to the little girl, who was already getting tired. She bent over and reached out for her arm, but the girl inched away.

"Do you know what this is?"

The girl shrugged, "It makes me change into different anminals.."

A tear went down my eyes once I heard her voice and how she could barley pronounce animals. Monica shook her head, "That's one thing. This will make you stronger, smarter, and faster. Do you understand?"

With a nod for a reply she breathed in and continued. "After this we are going to give you this, it will keep you from turning into these animals. If anything were to happen, it wont do a thing. You will be fine. Instead of feeling bad you will feel good." There was a pause. "You do want that, don't you?"

She nodded, "If mommy says so." Then added a smile. The woman above sighed.

"Monica! Hurry up, I want to see what she can do." The mother took the girls wrist and she injected the liquid. Her daughter looked up and smiled. "I love you mommy."

She fell asleep and her mom sighed. "Now that's over and done with."

The girl let out a scream in pain and her eyes turned red. Monica quickly strapped her down and a safety glass came down on the girl so she couldn't hurt anyone. The mom's attitude totally changed as she smiled and watched, the woman up there did the same.

The girl got taller and her eyes began to glow. She must have grown till she was several feet taller, and her skin had paled. A armed man took out a gun and quickly fired a bullet into her chest. She winced, but didn't budge as the bully underneath her began to move till it made it to her finger tips and fell out as a whole. Once she was done the scientists clapped and wrote down the results. The woman smiled and spoke out.

"Ladies and gentleman, I give you the Las Plagas parasite, well, a quarter away from the actual thing anyways ." She looked over at Monica and the man. "Thank you for giving us Miley."

"Anything for an old friend, Melisa." Monica replied.

_***How does the pre-chapter sound and feel so far? I would love some feedback and if anything doesn't make sense feel free to message me or comment below. Remember to vote and comment! Have a nice day :D**_


	2. Chapter 2

"MILEY!"

My body jerked awake in a sudden spasm, gasping for air. Pain shot through my lungs. As I rolled off the bed, clenching my aching stomach the alarm clock began to beep in my ear. The sheets fell around me in a little circle, and with a sigh I rubbed my wet eyes. But the tears kept coming.

It all seemed so real, but that's how dreams are I guess.

This would be the tenth time I've had this dream. If it's not it's usually another nightmare. Timmy and I have been staying with Claire in the next town over, hoping to get on with our lives. But a few days after the incident she had to leave to go find her brother. So, for the time being it's been just the two of us.

Timmy and I still go to school, Claire registered us as her younger cousins. It was all we could think of since she's too young to be our mother or aunt. Even though she gave us money to survive on, to keep from using it as much as possible and help make the payments I go to work while Timmy mows lawns and does work at the local center as a lifeguard. We surprisingly make it in time, even though we mostly eat tv dinners.

The sound of footsteps stomping onto the wood floor went through me. My door flew open and Timmy came rushing through with panic. He stepped on my sheets causing him to slip on the hard wooden floor but he didn't seem to care. I quickly wiped my eyes and put a smile on my face. "Morning, Timmy."

Ignoring it he crawled over to me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Are you okay? What happened?" He asked frantically. I shook my head and took his hands off me. My smile faded, he was already worried as hell.

"Relax, it was just a dream."

Sighing, he sat back on his knees in front of me. "The nightmare again?"

"Yeah." I replied with a nod, and pulled myself up onto my feet. My room was small and only held a blow up bed with a portable side table. Walking over to my window I shielded my eyes from the sunlight. "It's been three months now, and they still haven't left."

Since Raccoon my nightmares have been more common, and more terrifying. Timmy's been trying to help by listening to every one of them. He tries to understand, even though he can't. While I was cursed with nightmares, he was cursed with a less severe version of post-traumatic stress disorder. He doesn't sleepwalk or anything violent, but he does freak out more and can't leave without a weapon of some sort. Loud noises like those in Raccoon City make him jump and breath badly.

"This one was different." He stated, eyes on me. "If it was the same dream, you wouldn't have freaked out like this." Standing up he walked over to me and took my hand, he held it up so I could see. "Your shaking."

"I saw Miley, and she was only five. She was so sweet and innocent, also, she had no idea what was happening to her." Tears filled my eyes, "She was given to Umbrella for testing purposes."

I breathed in and out, Timmy motioned for me to continue. "She was given a medicine and transformed into something the observer called a Verdugo."

"What the hell is that?" He asked, I shook my head. "Don't know. Some European name I guess."

"Well it's a good thing it was just a dream, right?"

"I don't know, it felt so real." A shiver went down my spine. "What if it really happened?"

Timmy laughed, "Don't worry, those things don't even exist. Claire told us all of the monsters that Umbrella had on file on the computers. None of them mentioned a creature called a Verdugo. They probably tested her on vaccines, the monsters we saw were animals once."

"Don't forget my share of dangers. Some were definitely human, like my dad." And Sherry's. I silently added.

"The viruses that caused that were made recently. I don't think they had those when we were kids." Seeing the worry in my eyes, he smiled and began to lead me into the kitchen. "Come on, breakfast is ready."

Not looking at him I nodded. "Don't worry, Shay, Miley's is resting in peace."

He continued to lead me into the kitchen where the delicious smell of burnt toast and eggs filled the air. Covering my nose I sat down and looked at the brownish eggs on the plate in front of me. The toast looked like charcoal, I took a quick breath in through my mouth. Timmy sat down at the counter beside me and began to eat.

How could he make this, let alone eat it? Having never seen a burnt egg the color of chocolate before, I'm afraid it'll poison me! Chancing the toast, I took a bite of it instead. Gagging, I tried to hold it in, for his sake and mine. He got his fathers cooking skills that's for sure!

Timmy looked over at me suspiciously, giving me a funny look. I smiled back politely and took another bite, the crispy crust breaking apart like dry sand. His gaze went back to his plate and I ignored all eye contact. He can tell when I hate something by just looking into my eyes. IT'S CREEPY!

He dropped his fork onto his plate and held out his hand.

"Come on, we'll just have cereal." He said, taking my plate away. Giggling, I got up and scouted the pantry beside the sink for the cheerios. Grabbing the box, I cut up a banana and split it between the two bowls. A couple pours of milk later and the masterpiece was ready for eating.

"Cheerios and bananas together?" Timmy asked giving me a weird look. Smiling, I slid a bowl towards him and watched as he slowly took a bite.

The look on his face...PRICELESS!

"Out of all the weird things you were fed, no one ever fixed you cheerios and chopped bananas?" He shook his head. "Weird."

"Why is that weird?" He asked, between bites. I laughed.

"That's not weird. You are!" He stopped and smiled evilly at me, then took his last bite.

"Okay."

"'Okay' what?"

"Just...Okay." He gave me another smile, my face went pale.

What's he planning? He's seeking revenge, I just know it! Quickly I diverted my attention to my cereal, hoping not to get payback. On the other hand, he didn't deny that it was good. And this was my breakfast every morning in Junior High, I can't believe that I didn't get sick of it.

After I finished my cereal, I went to the bathroom to put on my makeup. Not liking to wear much, I just covered some blemishes and put on some lip gloss. Today is Sunday, and our next door neighbors are going to church later. They ran into me yesterday and offered me a job as a babysitter for their two kids. Getting paid ten dollars an hour to look after a five year old boy and an eighteen month old girl doesn't seem that bad. Actually, it's great! It's my first time babysitting, so I hope I don't screw it up.

Seeing that it was seven thirty, I closed the front door behind me and locked it tightly. Timmy looked back and waved a quick goodbye as he headed towards the elevator. Tomorrow a project on World War II is due in American History, which was assigned last Monday. The slacker, decided to wait till the last minute and go to the library for research material today.

A door opened beside me and the family of four stepped out. The mother was holding the baby while the father was giving a lecture to the son about respect and rules. Setting the rules for the house when their gone no doubt, he squatted down beside him. There eyes met and he told his son sternly not to give me a hard time.

"Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Conner!" I greeted happily with a big smile. The mother returned the smile and gave her baby a kiss on the forehead. "And a good morning to you."

"We should be back around twelve thirty, depending on traffic." Mr. Conner said handing me a paper. "This is our contact information along with the doctors emergency number."

"Are the kids allergic to anything?" I asked curiously, taking the sticky note of numbers. The mother laughed.

"Of course not! That's just in case of an emergency. Can't be too careful now can we?" I smiled, shaking my head and giving off a little laugh.


	3. Chapter 3

**_*So guys second chapter over and done. It still is a working progress but I think it's almost all planned out. So don't forget, I am not a master at writing. If it feels like the plot is taking too long, tell me. If it feels too weak or too short, tell me. I hope you like it and please enjoy!_**

"No, not on the sofa!" I screamed as the boy rolled around with chocolatey hands. He giggled and grabbed my shirt leaving a ginormous print stain over my chest.

This was not what I had signed up for. I am a babysitter not pest control, and I have no idea what I am doing! Aren't they just supposed to go to sleep and watch TV quietly? _Apparently not_. He stuck his tongue out at me and took off towards the kitchen where the rest of the pudding was. Grumbling I ran right behind him trying to stop the madness within the child. I heard a wail come from the high chair and the baby girl began to cry. Taking her in my arms I wiped the food off her face and the smell of a strange odor came from her pants.

_Great_.

Checking the time I groaned seeing the little hand just barely past the eleven. I was so ready to leave, and with one of these two it's already a handful. Taking a short breather I sat the baby on the pink poka dot blanket in front of the TV. The boy reluctantly came back into the main room and I ordered for him to follow me into the kitchen. It was a good thing it was an open area so I could keep an eye on the baby. I'm beginning to feel like an old maid. Taking a chance to calm myself I sighed. _Only fifteen more minutes, you can do this Shay. _

Looking at the clock once more I felt a sense of dread come over me. Lunch was right around the corner and their parents would be home soon. Maybe they're still hungry from this morning?

Getting out the bread I began making the boy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The dishes and everything were clean; it only made sense. The mother probably felt like going easy on me. The boy was over by the TV watching some children's show with the baby and his eyes lit up when I gave him the sandwich. Maybe I'll be on his good side from now on. He looked at me several minute later and ate the last bit. I gasped.

"You sure at that fast. Were you really that hungry?"

He nodded and jumped up to his feet.

Before I could even speak he ran out of the room into his parents room which I was pretty sure was off limits. Looking at the baby one last time I hurried in after him. When I got in the room he threw pairs of clothes he had dumped onto the floor at me. When the underwear hit my face my cheeks flushed and I got it off of me to yell at him. The boxers in my hand were wrinkled and the realization hit me that they were from the dirty clothes hamper. Glancing to my right at the dumped crate of clothes I gagged and ran into the bathroom. Oh my god. I ran the water and washed my face ten times before drying. I felt disgusting. He giggled and I turned to him.

"Hey, let's be friends okay?" I said calmly, then took out a bag of strawberries from my lunch bag by the door. He reached for them and I joked, "Only if you behave."

With an urgent nod he yanked them from me and ran to his bedroom slamming the door behind them. The baby began to cry endlessly. Smiling I picked the small child up as the TV channel went blank. I paused. The sizzling of the static on the TV was unbearable as the lights flickered on and off and on again. Seeing that it was almost twelve fourty-five I sat down and rocked her to sleep. She turned on her side with a sigh.

Rocking her back and fourth I resisted the urge to sleep. Clouds began to gather outside with the perfect sleeping potion as the sun disappeared. My phone vibrated.

Timmy: Having fun?

Been better. The baby is sleeping now though.

Timmy: And the boy?

In his room eating my lunch.

Timmy: Want me to bring you something?

My stomach growled.

Please!

Timmy: Hahaha, alright. Be there in five.

Paragraph 7

A loud crash came from the boys bedroom and I jumped nearly waking up the baby. Sitting her gently down in her crib I hurried into the boys room to find him sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood. I shrieked.

His hand held something under him as he screamed in pain. Turning him over the mechanical pencil left his weakened grip. I scurried for my phone. The cops picked up immediately and calmly waited as I tried to explain, then hung up after dispatching the ambulance. The boy had tears in his eyes as he looked down and tried to sit up. I laid him back down. "You're fine, just lay back down." He nodded as he touched the floor again and I gasped as more blood ran. It was more than normal which worried me, and the fact that it was from a pencil of all things. Jumping up I reached into my pocket and glared at the emergency numbers. I called his family doctor.

"Hello, this is ." A male voice answered tiredly. Then there was a quick gasp, "What happened this time?"

"My name is Shaylin Mendel, and Mr. And Mrs. Conner left me in charge while they went out. The boy was in his room and there was a loud noise and when I came in he was laying on the floor with-"

"Where are the parents now?" He asked urgently.

I thought for a second, "T-They went to church! A pencil is inside him and please help me because I don't know what the hell I'm doing!"

"Calm down and listen, there is a small box in the right dresser of the boys desk. It's white with red stripes. Inside is a needle already filled up full and I need you to take it and inject it near the wound."

"What! Can't I just wait for the ambulance to-"

"You called the police?" His voice filled with anger.

"He is seriously injured! It's what any person would do, right?"

The doorbell rang and she looked at the clock to see it almost on twelve. Shit. Running to the door the medics stormed in along with the shocked mother and father as they took out the stretch. Placing the boy on it the father glanced at the mother and ran to the group of men. She looked at me with a glare. A loud voice came from the other line.

"Sorry, . The parents just got home and-" the phone was taken away by the mother and she put it up to her ear.

"They took him away. What do we do?" With that she walked off towards the kitchen and my eyes landed on who was talking to the head medic.

"We don't need any service, the boy is fine. It happens quite often and our family doctor is just on the other line with my wife. Let him handle it."

They didn't listen as the rushed out towards the car outside of the hotel. The mother in the kitchen sighed as she watched her husband go after them. I picked up the baby and a tear ran down my face. I didn't mean for this to happen. I should've watched the boy better and now his family hates me. The baby let out a cry, the food from earlier pouring from the sides of its mouth. Holding her against me I tried to burp her and all the food from today came rushing out.

Looking at her face I noticed two little dots on her shoulder. They were fresh with a little blood but not much and the liquid puss that came out was thin like the blood. The mother came in and took her out of my arms.

"Thank you for your service. You can go home now." She said, then lead me to the front door.

"But I want to go check on him to make sure he is alright! It was my faul-"

"Yes, it was, but right now it doesn't matter and if you'll excuse me I have to go see my son in the hospital." She left me to close the door behind us and stormed off in the direction of the elevator leaving me to sulk in the hallway.

Timmy was almost knocked over by her as he came down the hall towards me. A bag of fast food burgers and fries were in his hand for us and I smiled. I needed some food. Handing me the bag he took off his jacket and asked me what happened bringing tears to my eyes. Seeing me at my breaking point he dropped the coat and took the food from my hands. After sitting it down he pulled me into a warm hug and tears streamed down my flushed face. People were staring of course.

"What happened Shay?" He softly asked. I held back the chokes.

"T-The little boy." I stuttered between gasps, "He was so rowdy, a-and I gave him some s-strawberries to c-calm him down-"

"Was he alergic?"

I let out another sob and wrapped my arms around him, unable to look at anything. I got a little boy sent to the hospital on my first day. What did I do to deserve this? Was it payback for not being there for Miley? Oh God, Miley, if only you were here. I need your help! We always thought about babysitting together, starting a teen business for college. I just thought it meant we'd be together. I'm so sorry.

"No! There was a loud crash in his room and when I came in a freakin mechanical pencil was shoved into his fragile little body!"

Everything came out so fast I nearly died from lack of breath. It must have been loud too, because everyone was staring and some were just in shock. The building let out a low rumble and the floor tipped to the side. Loosing my balance I fell against the wall as Timmy hit the ground. An explosion came from upstairs.

"What's happening?" A woman shrieked as the lights went out. Timmy got to his feet and found me quickly.

A man ran down the hall towards us and hit the side table knocking of the vase of flowers. I bent over to help him up but I was pushed away as he took off again. "Run!"

Timmy opened the door to our apartment and froze as we both gaped at the missing bedrooms. Half of the living space was gone with a big gap in the building. A scream got louder then quieted back down as a man fell down to the ground in front of us. I glanced over the edge to see people tripping in the streets right and left.

One man tackled a small child and it screamed as I saw the tiny splash of red hit the cement. The head came off as I gasped leaning in to see closer. The man looked up at us and held his knife up to the sky. Timmy backed away and ran towards the door grabbing the emergency bag from the entry coat closet. There was a loud crash into our door making Timmy jump out of his skin. Swinging it open a worker shouted for us to get out before freezing at the sight of our half missing apartment. When he came to he took off down the hall as I caught up with Timmy.

As we got out of the apartment a woman ran down the hallway with a kitchen knife tightly in her hand. Her bloodshot eyes landed on a man as she jumped onto his back. ? I gaped at the woman who was once my neighbor as she brought the knife up and stabbed her husband in the neck then repeatedly anywhere else within reach. Timmy grabbed my hand hard and gulped as I caught my breath.

It was a zombie.


	4. Chapter 4

"Woah!" Timmy shouted roughly pulling me back into him just as the knife hit the wall behind me. I watched it graze the air millimeters from my face in utter shock. "What the hell?"

That zombie just through a knife at us. I thought starring at the sharp blade sticking in the sheet rock of the warm, light toned painted wall. What happened to the half decayed bodies that trudged around near graves on a full moon? Oh, wait, that's vampires. But still! Since when do they react and chunk crap at people like the living? Timmy let go of me and gaped at the killing object. I probably should be more afraid than confused, but am I sure that's a zombie?

It could be an insane neighbor.

The woman hissed and rapidly leaped onto Timmy taking him to the ground with a single push. I gasped and jerked the knife out of the wall. He screamed in terror as she snapped for his pale stricken face. I had never seen zombies this strong before.

The blood running from her once colorful eyes dripped on his clothes while the missing nails from her fingertips clawed. Taking the knife firmly into my right palm I plunged it into he neck distracting it enough for Timmy to brace himself for the next blow.

Once she was off I stabbed her in the head till her body went instantly limp. Collapsing onto the floor in a heap of blood she died and another man screamed after seeing me then took off in a dead run towards the other exit. I probably looked crazy stabbing a random woman in the hallway, but it's either them or us. Timmy pulled away from her grip and knocked the body off his legs to the floor.

"What just happened?" I asked in a shaky voice. Timmy quickly inhaled more air before trying to speak.

"I think," He muttered in disbelief, "we just got ourselves into another zombie outbreak..."

Helping him up I took the bag in my hands and handed him the knife. His eyes peeled wide open at the sight of the blood covered handle. Once he hesitantly took it I put the bag over my shoulders and led the way towards the back staircase. Claire just had to leave this month. Maybe we should've went with her.

You idiot! You know damn well she wouldn't have let you even if you begged.

Yeah, but now I wish we had just for the option.

Another person came thrashing around the corner and hit the old man beside us. Timmy knocked it off him and broke the spinal chord with a swift slice of the blade. The man screamed seeing the undead attack then grabbed his arm in pain. The bite mark had taken some skin clear to the bone off practically earning him a one way ticket to the afterlife, if there is one.

He wrapped his scarf around the wound and scurried down the hall in the other direction with no intent on stopping. Timmy took my hand and pulled me across the marbled floor to the stairwell taking us farther down towards the first floor.

"Timmy, we need to make sure everyone gets out s-"

"There's no time." He exclaimed touching down on the last step, "The building could collapse any second!"

The sound of a child crying drug my attention towards the front desk. knelt down in front of her little boy and pulled up his arm exposing a bite mark. I gasped taking off towards them. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a syringe filled with a green liquid then plunged it into the boys neck. Coming to a halt I froze.

"What are you doing?" I hollered, getting her attention. Her eyes went wide and she dropped the needle and ran with the child crying in her arms.

"Shaylin, what's wrong?" Timmy asked frantically finding his way towards me. Picking up the empty needle I looked at the serial number labeled on the side, the Umbrella Corporation logo right next to it.

Handing it to him I glanced off in the direction they fled and fixed my eyesight on finding them. " just injected something into her son. He had been bitten."

"What was it?"

"I don't know, you tell me. It was a green liquid inside a vile labeled by the Umbrella Corporation."

An officer ran through the wide open glass doors and blew his whistle. "Everyone, the building is about to collapse, hurry!"

We hurried out the two colossal doors with our stuff. Timmy found a place to sit our stuff and glanced around to see no one in sight except several police and the fire department. Everyone we once saw running were gone.

Getting a nervousness feeling deep in my gut I looked up at Timmy worriedly as a doctor came up to check on us. We gave him the cover story and asked for the nearest payphone. Pointing us towards one just several blocks down we quickly thanked him and sat down to rest for just a couple of seconds.

"Do you think we imagined it?" I quietly asked, eyeing the charcoal stained from the smoke on my clothes. He sighed.

"I hardly think we imagined our neighbor killing that man, let alone attacking us." He said glancing over at the group of people from the lower floors who made it out. "But that liquid in the syringe did look familiar. I just don't remember-"

The two floors above us let out a rumble and the fire spread to the lower and upper levels. Licking the side walls the fire stretched out the opening and two firefighters came stumbling out crying in fear. The chief looked them in the eyes and ordered for them to straighten up. One man broke out with a cry.

Timmy glanced behind us as some nearby pedestrians came over silently to see what the commotion was about, not even noticing the fire. One of them glanced over at me and I gripped Timmy's wrist tightly. Something wasn't right. One man walked up behind the chief and muttered something at him.

It must have been strange, cause he gave them a weird look and began to back away. An ax came down on his head splitting the insides in half. I shrieked as he hit the ground along with everyone else who had witnessed the attack.

A cop aimed at his head and shot sending a bullet into its skull. The head came clean off. Getting to my feet I began to back up and hit something in the side. I looked back and saw a shovel hovering above my head. Timmy pulled me back as it came down. The cop screamed and we turned around to see the mans head gone and several stem-like tentacles reach out for the sky a blade at the end of the longest one.

"What the hell?" Timmy shouted, seeing the head clearly gone. I gasped, "What is it?"

The blade sliced across his throat clearing the head off in an instant leaving the body of the cop on the cement. Everyone began to run as bodies stumbled out of the fire in a wave from the burning building towards us. Timmy took my hand and pulled us away towards the other side of the street. A woman clutching her child in her arms took off down the street and was taken down by several more of the undead. The baby let out a cry that was soon silenced by groans and shrieks.

He began to pull me down the street with him as several followed closely behind grasping for my loose clothes. With nowhere to go I glanced back at a pole flew towards me. Ducking it hit the ground ahead and we both jumped over it. I stumbled behind him.

"Timmy, they are faster!" I screamed as one lady clawed at my back. "And stronger!"

"What do you think? Not zombies?" He asked over the strong wind. I glanced back one last time to see her eyes bloodshot and rotting flesh covering her right arm.

"Definitely zombies!" I commented, then dodged another swing. "Timmy, we have to lose them somehow!"

"Can't you do something?"

"There's too many!"

"Well, think while I run !" He shouted, then looked ahead for a place to stop.

Unzipping the bag on his back I felt for something to fight with. My hand grazed a handle to a gun and I sighed. Please let this work, I prayed pulling it out. Flipping the safety off I aimed back at the closes zombie and fired sending a bullet into its chest. Watching it stumble back I let go of Timmy's hand to get a better aim and twisted my top half around to face them.

Sending another at them the person finally fell tripping several others behind it for a second. Going once again the rest fell as I slowly but surely got my aim back. I tripped.

Timmy stopped ahead and came surging back to help me, offering me a helpful hand up. While they were all down we turned the corner behind a building and looked ahead to see a car crash into a wave of pedestrians who clawed for food. Heading back down the street we saw a phone booth and he handed me the bag then stepped in to quickly call for help. Guarding the door I shot two zombies who came rushing at me off balance.

"Damit!" I heard him shout as he put the phone up.

"What?"

"The lines are out!" He said then asked me if I had my phone. I shook my head and sighed in frustration.

"It was in the room when it caught fire."

Taking down another zombie I gave him a fearful look and watched him take out another gun. Looked around I mentally face palmed and looked at him. "Where's the knife?"

"I dropped it." BANG!

"You dropped it!" I exclaimed and he nodded his head urgently loading the handgun.

A zombie lurched at me covered in fire and I shot it down sending bits of fire in every direction. My jeans began to burn as smoke soon ignited the cloth sending flames traveling up my leg. I shrieked as Timmy tried to pat it off. Taking out one of the bottles of water in the bag he poured it on me putting the raging fire out.

Looking underneath there was a huge red burn in a slash going up the front of my calf. Timmy sighed and I blinked away the trembling tears. It hit so freakin' bad I thought I was going to explode like a fuse any second. Asking me if I was alright he zipped the bag back up and pulled it back on. He jumped and aimed at my face sending a bullet towards me.

The zombie behind me fell. I wheezed in an exhale.

"Thanks for the warning."

"Any warning and you would have been dead." His voice faded by the time the sentence ended, and he motioned for me to follow him.

"So how are we going to get out of here? I don't know the city well enough to locate where we are even now and-"

"I'll think of something," he said calmly, "don't worry about it."

Taking another zombie down I waited for his plan, watching him lead the way down the long two way street. The street light blinked red like a stop sign from lack of power. It made me wish we had a map. Timmy stopped and eyed the dimly lit building ahead and smiled.

"I know where we are." He said, then took my hand. "The center isn't too far away from here and there should be a convenient store to the left a block down from there. We will find food there."

"What if we run out of bullets?" I asked, taking another down which attracted more to gaze at us.

"We may need another option, and a tiny knife isn't going to cut it." He said, then looked back at the phone booth. "Would you mind using a knife for now, and we can switch later once we get closer? I'm not so good at knife combat, and when Claire taught us you got farther ahead than me."

Unzipping the bag on his back and switching the gun out for a knife I sighed, "No, you're right. It would be better this way."

"And we may want to avoid shooting them in the head until we figure out what they are exactly."

A shiver went down my spine, "Yeah, let's go."

Heading down the street I took out the nearest zombies by the ankles while Timmy only used the gun when we were swarmed. It seemed to work out easier, but I despised the thought of the dead getting so close to us and killing people my age was no trip through the park.

It didn't take long to find his work, and when we did luckily there was still some food left. The whole thing started so quickly that no one had time to grab spare food. I just wish we could have helped everyone back at the apartment complex. Timmy went in and began taking random food off the isles like bread, water, and canned stuff. I was sent to the back to grab some sacks for storage, not that we could carry much. The first thing Claire told us was to pack lightly and save energy.

The people soon cleared the store and my isle was abandoned. Going back to find Timmy I heard the faint clicking of claws against the door followed by an animal like sound. My face paled. It couldn't be, could it? Turning around slowly I stared at a golden retriever dog that was just looking at me in pain.

"I had forgotten about you." I muttered to myself as it crept closer. Taking out my knife from a hole I made in my pocket I backed away slowly.

It barked and I shockingly jumped back not expecting long squirming tentacles to spritely sprout out from it's scarred spine.


	5. Chapter 5

**Timmy POV **

Watching the tentacles spring from the broken, bloodshot skin I gaped as my eyes popped out of my skull and stumbled back. I let out a deep gasp in shock then had to I fight for my disintegrating balance. _Whatever this virus was, it sure knew the meaning of 'attack from the inside out'_. The dog let out a deep, vex growl then one of the slimy arms quickly struck me in the shoulder leaving a long painful strip of red in a skinless strip.

Shay took the awaited moment while it lasted and pounced cutting the top half of the tentacle off just as it carelessly retracted. Looking along the thin walls I broke through the thin, glass pane and took the large hanging axe from the emergency box, so when another menacing growl came from the other direction behind me I was ready.

Shay leaped out of the way as the dog lurched urging for her recently healed face. I landed the other bounding animal in the back, and immediately it triggered the raging virus letting the arms grow out of its back just as easily fit as the other. After getting a closer look I dodged a fast swing and tried to hold in my pounding breakfast. The tentacles were all attached to a little scarlet, contracting head, and it had itself firmly attached to the spine.

Several people that had been in the store screamed once walking past our isle quickly catching both Shay' and my attention, and they quickly ran off in fear. They didn't even bother too help. Taking the ax tightly in my hands I ignored the constant weight of it and aimed for the split back. Something has to penetrate the spinal chord.

After missing multiple times, and getting violently scratched another, I found Shay still unshaken and holding her ground tiredly. She gasped out short breaths from exhaustion as she was suddenly struck in the stomach and shoved back into one of the sharp remaining shelves. Slumping to the ground her breathing pace quickened, and she began to let out painful, choking coughs from the lack of air. Knocking the dog away I rushed over to her while her watery, hazel eyes instantly looked up at mine. The crumpled, dead dogs encircled us. "Timmy..."

"Yeah?"

"Don't you think this counts as an emergency?" She jokingly asked but sounding weakly non of the less, and pushed herself roughly back to her feet. I helped her regain her footage and quickly pulled out the slightly small gun, and so the axe wouldn't get left I handed it quickly to her.

"Definately." I said before shooting at the creature as it spiritedly jumped. Fazed by the sudden blow it went back in the same direction hitting the other as well. I began to push Shay along, "_Go, go, GO_!"

She didn't even hesitate, taking off ahead as I aimed directly behind us. When we saw the shining glass door dead ahead jammed by a fallen isle I watched her glance back at me for another smart answer. _Great_, I thought then shot another bullet. They were gaining their wrenching and decayed bodies, and I looked ahead and told her to go left. If my memory was correct, there was one more way out; it wasn't easy.

When we made it around I said to go through the thick, metal double doors, and then take another sharp left. She didn't seem to mind at all as long as it got us farther away from the ravaging dogs. It was easy to say that she wished Leon was within contacting reach; maybe then he would help get us out of here in time.

So far him and Claire have been the only survivors we know of, and after the missile destroyed the entire city perimeter there wasn't any word of Jill Valentine nor the others being alive. It was like the hired news reporters said:

_There was little hope in finding any survivors out of the city's one-hundred thousand citizens._

"Timmy!" Shay loudly called from up ahead as I glanced up. The doors behind us had bravely held them back for several seconds like a bulletproof vest, but it wasn't long until they had already cunningly gotten through. I heard Shay scream up front.

As the zombie charged it's dagger towards her I quickly caught up to her, "Shay, duck!"

Immediately, she got on her knees and tried to slide beneath the blades deadly path. I did just the same, and mimicked her exactly as my leg was drug directly back sending me flying forward tumbling. By the time we got back up the decaying body was already set to jump onto us. I shot it directly in the skull before it could blink.

"They're catching up!"

"Up ahead take another right!"

Before we got halfway there the dogs were already on us. Shay finally realized my screwed up intentions once we made it around, and she gave me a shot of peeled eyes with shock. As she screamed at me that I was crazy I felt a sting crawl up my back taking me down to my knees. She quickly pulled me back up.

The monsters had surrounded us, and I forced the both of us forward to the end of the hallway. A huge glass window covered the length of a full wall which I prayed would slow down the creatures chasing us. With another zombie added to the group Shay nearly fainted as I told her to watch her step.

We jumped.

After our bodies rammed into the thick glass a huge spiderweb effect went around us as it shattered, and I tightly shut my eyes. Shay let out a high pitched squeal in terror as we crashed through. I assumed the concretes impact would hurt, but this time it wasn't the thought that counted. Everywhere inside of me hurt like hell as my body hit the floor, and the self control simmered away as I groaned with a muffled cry in pain. Shay quickly sat up and crawled away, and I squinted through the pain to see if I could see up above.

The group looked down on us, but only muttered several words before turning around a trudging off. I glanced over at Shay and asked if she was okay, then got the same question for an answer. With a weak nod I crawled past the broken shards of glass towards her.

"Any scratches? Cuts?"

"No, I think I'm fine." She answered helping us both up, "But it looks like the jump hurt you more than me."

Shrugging it off I dusted the glass off of me and took one more glance up. It was easily a ten foot drop, but it looked much deeper and sent shivers down my spine at just the thought of jumping. "That probably was a bad idea." She added, then let out a tiny laugh as I absently nodded.

"When working it looks so much shorter, and less painful. It was the only thing I could think of."

"Well, it seemed to be the only way, so I'm glad this was here instead of a dead end that would leave us stranded." She answered, "Anyways, we had better leave before they come back."

"Good idea."

There was a low bark from up above, and we didn't waste another moment. Taking cover behind the parked truck I had her stay behind me and watch the back as I looked on ahead. With all the people out there it was a wonder they didn't see us jump. Some of the zombies had knives, and others held bats and poles and whatever else they were using at the time of her death. I looked around for another way.

Shay suggested we try to drive the truck, but then stopped after pulling me out of sight. A woman trudged towards us one leg broken and another bleeding in waves. Her face was rotting off, and when she turned Shay gasped from behind as the eye socket dripped tears of blood from the empty place. "Her face..."

"Shhh," I hushed as the woman quickly jerked by a foot, "I know."

"What do we do?" She asked quietly.

"We go with your idea...and take the truck."

"But, Timmy, we can't drive a truck!"

"It's our only chance at getting away." I said watching her leave, and slowly opened the passenger side door. Helping myself in I took Shay's hand and jerked her up. The moment we got in I eased the door shut and looked out the window seeing the fifty some dead people. "Man, it's like a creepy circus from Raccoon hit town."

"Well, let's not stand around and watch..."

Searching around for the keys I found them in the mirror of the passenger side and put them into the ignition. Looking out the window I gave her a warning smile, "From now on its play as you go along, alright?"

"Okay Timmy, " She said with a nod, "Now let's just get the hell out of here."

I turned the key and the engine immediately responded, and gathered the attention of the monsters flooding the streets. I felt Shay tense up as I took it out of park. It was beginning to creep me out the way they stared; the way their eyes seemed to stretched throughout your body down to your soul. Even the children creeped me out, but they had a dash of sadness to it also.

Looking up I took the chance at a deep breath as they all began to walk over to us hands gripping their instruments. My fingers began to sweat as I floored the gas pedal.

"Timmy, they're coming!" She shouted after several seconds. I glanced in the side mirror and saw the group slowly grow bigger and bigger.

Shay began to panic and I told her to buckle up. The turn was sharp but immediately I was able to get the vehicle back on track. She covered her face begging me not to kill us, and I kind of laughed nervously; I couldn't make any promises. With the car going fifty on a crowded street it was hard to keep it on all four wheels.

I froze as a group of them met us at the intersection ahead awaiting our stop. I gulped making Shay flinch. "What's wrong?" I didn't answer her afraid it would force her out of the truck. I took the pedal and pressed it down all the way, and then I told Shay to hold on.

The jolt they gave shocked me as the entire truck took a huge leap in the air over the bodies running them into the ground. One toppled onto the hood and cracked the window. When the crack spread across the windshield I ducked to see as she opened her big eyes. A gasp escaped her parted lips as the zombie thrust itself into the glass cutting up the contacted skin. Several drops of blood seeped through the growing crack.

"Get off!" I ordered serving the car and turning on the windshield wipers. I felt a hand touch my shoulder as Shay told me about the horde that was trying their best to catch up behind us. I slowed down the car.

"What are you doing?" She asked watching them catch up.

"When we get down to ten I'm going to find a good place to jump." She gasped, "What!"

Unbuckling her seatbelt I checked the mirrors one more time before turning once more onto another tiny street. "Next time I turn they will be far enough behind so we can jump out and get out of sight. Then they will follow the truck for however long they need too."

"How will we keep it going?"

"Cruise control!" I shouted before turning once again, "Now jump!"

I thrust open my door and leaped out with a huge gulp of air knowing I would need it. I hit the pavement with a thud and I felt my arm go against the cement with a huge burn, then Shay called my name in a scream. My head began to ache, so I squinted through to see her on the other side of the road. She began to crawl hastily towards me.

"Timmy, before they see us, we've got to go!" She pulled me up and we ran over into an alley behind a dumpster hoping not to be seen.

The screams of the savages could be heard clearly in the air, and I looked as the sun began to go down. It was easily five in the afternoon; it would be a cold winter night. If they don't find us and leave us alone maybe we could find a place to sleep. It would only be for an hour, but it would be better than nothing.

Shay took my wrist as they made it around the corner and one screamed, "Don't let them escape!" And another pointed for them to charge towards the running car, "Over there! Their they are!"

I had us move back a little bit, and we both quickly ducked as they ran past in a mob of murderers. When they finally went past I sighed and helped Shay to her feet. They went down and there was a huge explosion that we both could see high up into the air. Giving it another go I told Shay to wait as I looked around the corner too see several of them on fire from the engine and several more dead. The rest backed away slowly and departed. One walked once again past us muttering, "Where is he..."

Shay pulled me back and led me away towards the other direction. Seeing them all looking for us and talking made me want to throw up. How could they have been talking? Their bodies are decaying! This makes no sense, and I'm about to faint from exhausting and hunger. Looking over at Shay I blinked, "Shay, where's the bag?"

"I thought you had it once we got into the truck." She said in shock, and I slapped my hand against my face.

"Damn it," I sighed, "Let's hope the truck isn't terribly messed up, or I'm going to get pissed."

She took my hand before I could leave, "But you can't go out there!"

Looking at her wide hazel eyes I glanced out too see them all idling around. With a sharp exhale I took the gun out of my pocket and loaded it once more. She had her knife which was more than I expected with the entire bag gone. "Stay here while I go sneak past them. Don't move, and don't make any noise."

Telling her I'd be back I slipped out and made my way over. As several more went by the sound of one groaning filled my frozen ears. It was one thing to be stuck outside with out any food, but in the cold it was worse. The sun began to hide behind the buildings roofs, and I went from car to car. The truck was only ten yards away eventually.

"I'm going to kill them."

I gulped, They sure have a way with words... Taking the chance I ran up to the passenger side and stayed clear of the burning engine. It would have been just my luck if it exploded in my face. Opening the door I saw the bag in the floor now touched in anyway. Perfect.

"There he is!" A mans voice gruffly shouted, and then I felt pressure on my back.

A young man about twenty picked me up and tossed me carelessly over his shoulder. His tight arm went around my stomach almost tearing my skin apart. A scream came from down the street a few yards and I saw Shay struggling against a woman with a knife with several more coming after her. Fear hit me like a mini van.

"Shay, run!" She glanced over at me and took another swipe with her knife, "Like I can?"

Hitting the guy in the back of the head I felt his arms loosen just enough to grab my gun and shoot the back of his skull. Several more came rushing over towards me with knives and what not scaring the hell out of me. I kicked ones stomach and it's head blew off growing more arms. Holding back a scream I ran down over to Shay.

One gave me a glare before tossing an axe at me nearly getting my foot. Shay jabbed the bald into ones skull before meeting up halfway with me. The others began screaming at each other revolting things ordering our deaths or even worse. The sound of distant zips and clicking came into my eardrums.

"Timmy, they're getting closer!" Shay said ordering one back. I waited for a chance to run and the distant noise of a low rumble woke me up. My face paled as I began to slowly recognize it. Shay eyes eyes grazed mine for a split second, "Timmy, what's that?"

"Holy shit."

"What?"

Before I could answer another monster charged at us and broke the circle just long enough for us to jump. One glared and shouted, "Block their path!"

Shay took my hand and tried to run and one grabbed her from behind holding her up by the arms. I was soon taken down by a man with an ax holding it up underneath my chin. The noise got louder matching another zipping sound. There was a gunshot as a roar came from around the corner, and a chainsaw was held up high in the air.

Shay looked over at me as I paled in fear. I didn't remember seeing it at all back in Raccoon, and the bag over its head made it even scarier. There was another gunshot as it came rushing towards us in a phantom sprint of rage. "What is that, Timmy?"

"I don't know..."

The zombie behind me relaxed and let me go falling to the ground. Shay's was next and then the rest of the zombies who all began springing around trying to get out of the way in search for the invisible perpetrator. The chainsaw reached me, and then I weakly collapsed to the ground as it pulled back to slam its wedge onto my head. I heard my friends scream.

_***Well, I hope you guys are pleased because I am! This story is going waayyy better than I had expected and I am proud of myself for remembering English techniques we learned previously several weeks ago in class. This is one of those chapters where it feels like everything is going right for once. I hope you guys enjoy and please share you thoughts, concerns, and opinions through commenting and, hopefully, voting! Have a nice week!**_


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